Experiments
by PepperonyOwl
Summary: This is just three different stories with Ranma/Akane pairing I've started and I wanted your opinion on which ones you liked / didn't like. None of these have been beta read or finished, they're just first chapters.
1. Fake Wedding Ukyo

Okay, I'm looking for your opinion on a couple of stories I started over the last few weeks - okay, so it's three in total. Let me know what you think of them and which one's you'd be most interested in me continuing...

Please note that these have not been beta read yet! All mistakes, incongruousness and OOC's are my flaws! Sorry!

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Righto, this one is placed during the time where they pretend to be married. Let me know what you think!

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Ranma paused momentarily. Actually that did make sense – surely if Ukyo thought he was already married she'd back off and they could go back to being friends.

"Okay, Okay. I guess there's no turning back now. I'll help you."

"I'M THE ONE WHO'S HELPING YOU!"

Fuming, Akane glared at him but stopped the moment they both noticed Ukyo peeking around the corner.

"What are you two whispering about?"

Blushing slightly, Akane pressed herself against Ranma and felt his arm touch her shoulder, though it was shaking slightly.

"Um, our relationship-"

Stomping on Ranma's foot before he could say something incriminating that would imply they'd had a fight she cuddled closer to him.

"Now, now darling. A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell."

She watched with satisfaction as Ranma blushed even more, avoiding Ukyo's eyes. She was now glaring at them both.

"My apologies, Ukyo.", Akane took the lead again, snuggling under Ranma's arm on her shoulder. Unseen by the other girl she used her arm on his back to propel him forward. God, Ranma's entire body was stiff and awkward. Sending what she hoped was a convincing smile at the other girl she moved level with her.

"You know us, we're not really comfortable with publicly showing our affection, isn't that right, _honey_?"

Despite her own blush Akane found herself giggling slightly when Ranma's cheeks darkened.

"Ye-yeah, of course, darling."

Smiling slightly to herself, Akane thought that this wasn't so bad. Ranma's arm around her had stopped shaking and their position felt strangely natural. Relaxing into his side, she minutely tightened her hold on his waist. Unfortunately, Akane noticed Ranma's surprised eyes on her and his blush as he realised she was enjoying this.

Avoiding each other's eyes they were immediately surrounded by their family, separating their fake wedding and all other thoughts fled their minds as they set to pretending all night.

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Soaking in the bath tub, Akane sighed. This wasn't going to go well. Ranma and her were to focussed on fighting one another to suddenly present the opposite image. How were they going to do that? Besides, what did married couples normally do?

For a moment her mind drew a blank. She'd not really had any examples except for what she'd seen in movies. Real life tended to be somewhat different... but what did that mean? Despite her engagement, she hadn't ever contemplated their actual life together in such detail. She'd imagined the wedding, vows of undying love, soft kisses and hand holding... but that was it. Sometimes she'd imagined children but she'd never thought what day to day life would be like.

Frowning, Akane leant back in the bathtub. Married couples... slept in the same bed, kissed and hugged... what else would they do? Her making food was out of the question. Despite her vocal protests to Ranma she did try her own food occasionally and she knew very well that poisoning him would not be a sign of love.

That made her pause – but would admitting a weakness not be? Admitting that she couldn't cook? Slowly she planned the next day's lunch, absentmindedly stepping out of the bath to dry herself off.

Just as she was about to put her pyjama's on another plan came to mind. Akane flushed. She couldn't... could she? Her heart raced. No, that was out of the question.

Despite her thoughts she nimbly wrapped the towel around herself and grabbed her pyjamas. Sneaking into her room she dumped them on the bed.

_'__You can do this.'_ Akane looked at herself in the mirror. If she was honest with herself, she did enjoy the fact that Ranma was now touching her softly and was affectionate with her even if it did hurt that the entire thing was a charade for Ukyo's benefit.

So, wrapped in only a towel, Akane entered Ranma's room – knowing that both him and Ukyo would be in it. Pasting what she hoped could pass as a sexy smile on her lips, she leant against the doorframe under the wide eyed look from both Ukyo and Ranma.

"Honey, now that we don't need to pretend anymore you can come sleep in my room like always."

Silently congratulating herself for the lack of shakiness in her voice she watched Ranma visibly gulp before sending a short look at Ukyo. To her surprise, Ranma sent another look at her, questioning. And despite herself, Akane knew what he was asking – was this really okay? All for the sake of getting Ukyo to back off?

Smiling softly, enjoying the small rush of power she felt at Ranma's hesitation and consideration, she replied.

"You know, a girl might be hurt by the fact that you're not falling over yourself to rush to bed. One might think you don't ...", looking up at Ranma through her eyelashes, Akane gave him a coy look, smirk on her lips as she watched his reaction to her next words "_enjoy _sleeping with your wife."

It took only a moment before the full impact of her words hit him – she watched as his eyes grew to impossible size, his mouth gaped open and he gulped. A moment later his eyes had wandered lower before he visibly tore them away and met her eyes again.

"I ... definitely don't want you to think that.", his tongue licked his lips as he grabbed both pillow and duvet, giving her a smirk as he walked past and the message in his eyes wasn't hard to read.

_Challenge understood and accepted._

Grinning to herself, she sent a wink at the flabbergasted Ukyo and followed Ranma into her room. Closing the door behind her, Akane allowed herself to relax against the door momentarily. God, this was more difficult than she'd anticipated.

She gave Ranma a glance as she pushed herself away from the door and closed the curtains. Despite her accusations she knew very well that Ranma was not someone to do anything to her she didn't want herself. Blushing, Akane admitted to herself that that was exactly their problem. There weren't a lot of things she didn't _want_ to do with Ranma.

Looking at Ranma in front of her – who was blushing and desperately trying not to look, Akane sighed. Her entire family was probably sitting outside the door and trying to listen in. Grumbling at her messed up life, she looked at Ranma and mouthed _'Play along'_.

"Ah Ranma. I hated having to wake up in bed without you by my side these last few days. I am so glad this charade is finally over."

Blushing herself she sent a tentative look up at Ranma. Stepping closer until she could easily whisper into his ear, she continued talking.

"Can we... go out to the roof and look at the stars? Just the two of us?"

Sending a surreptitious look at the door, Akane lowered her voice to a whisper.

"You had better not look when I change or I swear to god that you WILL die. Slowly. Painfully. Understood? This whole playacting thing does not give you any rights whatsoever to take ... liberties."

She watched as Ranma, to her surprise, actually relaxed at her words and chuckled. He gave her a single nod to confirm he understood before talking out loud, addressing their spectators outside the room.

"I would like that very much, honey."

As per her instructions he closed his eyes and turned her back to her. Akane paused only momentarily before undressing swiftly, blush on her face. This was entirely uncomfortable – knowing that he was close enough she only needed to reach out to touch him. Swallowing, Akane grabbed her pyjamas to quickly pull them on. At least she didn't have the sort of sexy lingerie that Nabiki had.

Tapping his shoulder slightly she watched as Ranma cautiously turned around before carefully peaking out of one eye and only relaxing when he could clearly see the yellow fabric.

Amused, Akane's lips quirked into a smile as she drew back the curtains and opened the window.

"Carry me?"

Okay, so maybe she was enjoying this a bit too much. Sue her.

Ranma merely rolled his eyes. Before she could blink one of his hands was under her knees and the other around her back and she was safely ensconced in his arms.

It took barely a second and they were up on the roof. Clearing his throat, Ranma softly put her back on her own feet and stepped back.

Putting on another fake smile, Akane pushed on Ranma's shoulders. He sat down after a glance at her and with a sigh, Akane sat down between his legs, leaning her back against his chest. With a quick move she'd put Ranma's arms around her stomach and felt him place his chin on her shoulder. Her own arms covered his and Akane couldn't help but enjoy the moment. This was... kind of nice. Breathing in deeply, she reminded herself that this was nothing but an act.

"Aww, isn't this romantic, Ranma? Looking at the stars together, sitting on the roof, just the two of us?"

Ranma made an affirming grunting noise and Akane barely stopped herself from frowning. God, couldn't he even pretend to be romantic?

Annoyed, the blue haired girl nonetheless lowered her voice to barely a whisper instead of yelling at him.

"Have you thought this through? How are we meant to pretend to be married? All we do is fight; it's bound to come out sooner or later!"

Ranma's whispered back furiously, anger easily felt by the tension in his shoulders.

"Well you didn't have to go along with it. You're the one who thought Nabiki's plan was a good idea."

Akane squeezed his hand, trying to refrain from replying in kind or hitting him. She could feel their fathers watching them, which meant Ukyo and Nabiki were probably somewhere nearby as well.

"Listen to me for once, would you! That's not what I'm saying. We _can _pull this off, but we need to be on the same side for once. Now, I hate to say this but I'm not sure how a married couple should act. Any ideas?"

Ranma paused. He'd lived on the road with his old man for most of his life and couldn't really remember his mother. He had no particular idea of what marriage would be like though he hoped to himself that if or when he ever got married, he would never WANT to leave his wife for ten years.

"Dunno. Guess I kinda figured that with my dad's promises I'd end up in an unhappy marriage one way or another."

Shoulders slumping, Akane found herself sympathising with the boy behind her. She'd noticed it on multiple occasions – no one ever listened to him, always trying to force him one way or the other. Persisting, Akane pressed on.

"But if you think about it, what would a happy marriage be like for you?"

Blushing, Ranma looked up at the sky to avoid looking at the girl in his arms.

"Y'know... I could only be happily married if it was with someone I l-love."

"Same here.", Akane admitted. "All I ever imagined was kisses, touches, hugs and just.. sharing affection. Saying 'I love you'. Sleeping in the same bed together, waking up together. I... don't know what to do beyond that.", Shrugging slightly despite the embarrassment she was feeling, Akane looked up at Ranma.

"Can you cook?" Her voice was soft, trying not to think about what she was about to say and confess.

Sending her a surprised glance, Ranma nodded against her shoulder.

"The old man couldn't cook anything edible beyond a couple of dishes. I'm not great, but I can make some passable dishes. Why?"

"Well, much as I hate it... I'm not a great cook. I... always had this image of myself cooking for the man I love and at some point in the future for our kids. I always wanted to be feminine like Kasumi." Akane shook her head. She hadn't meant to open up that much to Ranma. "My point is, my only idea of married life was for me to bring a bento to school for you. I know, however, that you'd run the other way and that would end up with you probably comatose and our fake marriage out in the open."

Ranma grinned slightly as Akane glared at him.

"If you ever use what I've just told you against me, you will regret it. Cat phobia regret it."

"Hey, I wouldn't do that."

"Uh-huh. Anyway, my point was that if you could make a bento for tomorrow it'd sort of be the same gesture?"

Ranma grimaced.

"That's not very manly."

Akane giggled slightly. Ranma's obsession with being a man was always amusing. Due to his curse he was always rather touchy about the subject.

"Okay. Then how about you help me make a bento? That's sweet, romantic and still manly. You're helping the poor, poor female..."

Ranma grinned at her sarcastic tone and Akane couldn't help but smile back. This wasn't so bad.

"Sounds good to me. So long as I don't die from food poisoning."

A quick jab into his ribs stopped Ranma's laughter and the blue haired girl frowned. Just when she thought they were getting along – another fight.

"That's another thing. We always fight, how is that affectionate?"

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Ranma hesitated only for a moment before his mouth opened and said what he'd been thinking.

"What about using 'my tomboy' instead of darling?"

He flushed. He could feel the heat in his cheeks and avoided Akane's eyes. There was no need for her to know that it was already what he called her in his head.

"That- That's brilliant. Though I still don't understand how calling me a tomboy is affectionate."

Licking his lips, Ranma paused. Did he dare...?

"Well, y'know... Not everyone likes quiet and meek girls..."

He felt her freeze in his arms, could see as she turned her face to him.

"What do you mean?", her voice was soft and her brown eyes were wide and fastened on him.

"Don't get any ideas. It's not like I'm talking 'bout myself or anything. Just... some boys quite like being challenged rather than a compliant girlfriend. A tomboy... Just sayin'."

He flushed at how happy Akane was looking, her brilliant smile so close to his face made his blood sing and his heart race. If only she knew how stunningly beautiful she looked when she did that – it still took his breath away – which was probably a good thing as he would've almost certainly ended up insulting her with his next sentence.

Akane's smile softened as she looked at him.

"My baka."

There was no mistaking the affection in the term and he felt his cheeks redden in embarrassment. Clearing his throat, he looked back at her.

"So, we good? For tomorrow?"

"Yes, I actually think we might pull this off. I'll try to not jump to conclusions, you try to not insult me and we'll be fine."

Nervous, Ranma nodded slightly at her words, before looking at her cautiously.

"Do you want me to, y'know, be a girl for when I sleep in your room?"

He watched as her entire body twisted slightly to look at his face, incredulous expression on her face.

"And how, pray tell, would that help?"

Blinking in surprise, Ranma looked at his fiancée.

"Well... I'd be female. I thought it might-"

Akane's glare shut him up.

"Tell me one thing, when you're a girl do you want to kiss guys?"

"Urgh! Akane! What the- Of course not!", he barely refrained from shouting and instead whispering the words to her though he was still outraged at her suggestion. His face was twisted into grimace, remembering Mikado Sanzenin kissing him in his cursed form.

"Then how would it help? I'm not scared of myself being overwhelmed with passion and mauling you in your sleep, so whether you're female or male makes no difference."

Wide eyed he stared at her, heart racing. Did she...? Was she for real? He had tried to get other to see it, argued until he was blue in the face. He was male, even if his body wasn't all the time. He was interested in women only. And yet here, out of nowhere, his fiancée said exactly the same thing to him.

He could kiss her.

That thought made him flush.

"Err... so what do we do?"

Finally she blushed as well in embarrassment.

"Well, we'll keep our hands to ourselves and we'll be fine. ... Right?"

"...Right."

He was not going to get any sleep tonight, was he?

He watched as Akane leant forwards slightly and found himself missing the feeling of holding her in his arms already.

"I'm starting to get cold. Let's go get some sleep, okay?"

Nodding and smiling a similarly fake smile he suppressed his nervous tension and swept Akane up into his arms again. Grinning slightly at her he easily jumped down and let them in through the window.

"Show off."

Smirking he looked at Akane, still securely held in his arms.

"You're just envious."

"Pah. You wish."

They exchanged smiles at the familiar banter and relaxed slightly. Laying her down on the bed, Ranma took a step back, looking at his pillow and duvet.

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Akane stretched slightly. This was going remarkably well. Despite a few insults, she and Ranma now had a workable plan to fool Ukyo. And besides, Ranma would never do anything to hurt her, of that she was certain.

A knocking on the window made Akane frown and jump up. Ranma had already opened the window and to her surprise, Nabiki was outside.

"Well, I wasn't going to suggest this until tomorrow. Now, I had a feeling this might happen.."

Akane and Ranma exchanged a glance in amusement at the bucket of water being offered. Ranma took a slight step back, letting her deal with her own sister.

"Wow, well, Nabiki, this is terribly nice of you but I don't swing that way. If I do anything with my husband I much prefer him to be male. Of course I don't have anything against it, Nabiki. You really should've told me!"

Smiling widely, Akane patted her sister on the shoulder and closed the window in front of her. This was the first time she'd ever managed to really pull one over her sister. Giggling, she turned back to Ranma. He was chuckling and gave her a thumbs up.

After she'd closed the curtains and turned back around, both teenagers hesitated, feeling awkward. Unable to make eye contact, Akane looked at her bed.

"So... any preference about which side of the bed you'd rather sleep on?"

Ranma gave her a funny look.

"I was happy if I _had_ a bed to sleep on. Never mind which side of it."

Akane laughed slightly. Okay, that had admittedly been a rather stupid question on her part.

After a moment of hesitation both crawled under the duvet, blushing, lying with their backs to one another.

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It wasn't the alarm that woke Ranma up, rather it was his fiancée stretching over his body to reach the alarm. He gulped, eyes flitting over her body before refocusing on her face, fearing she would notice his distraction any moment now.

"Sooo... my baka, you ready to teach me how to cook?"

It took a moment and some tongue biting before Ranma merely nodded in reply, suppressing his initial answer which would have surely sent him flying.


	2. Protective Ranma

Again, your opinion. This is after Saffron. Not beta-read!

And **BIG WARNING**: M Rating! **This will be talking about dark topics, description of rape (attempted), emotional and everything else that goes with this. DO NOT READ if any of this offends you, bothers you or causes you emotional distress. I've been told that it's rather horrific in its description and evoking of emotions, so you've been warned. SKIP to the next chapter for Fluff!**

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Tired, Akane dragged a hand through her short hair, desperately trying to stem the dizziness and nausea. The world around her kept spinning, twisting and duplicating, meshing together and back out in intricate patterns and only hard focus and concentration made sure the young girl was still placing one foot in front of the other.

To be honest, she wasn't sure how she had even made it this far. When Ukyo had issued a challenge it had been a matter of pride that had made her not tell Ranma. What she hadn't expected was to find not only Ukyo but also Shampoo and Kodachi at their meeting point.

Her rivals were normally easily distracted and it was usually a simple matter of turning their attention to one another by reiterating that she had no interest in seeing her engagement to Ranma through while the other ones were very keen on being engaged to him. Unfortunately this time someone had informed all of them that she had agreed to the wedding. Akane was no fool - Kodachi or Ukyo she could potentially take on her own, but Shampoo was playing in a different ballpark altogether; not to mention all three together. The one thing in her favour was her ability and her experience in multiple foes attacking her.

She received a lot of scratches, bruises, bumps and other injuries before the girls were sufficiently deterred and more on each other's case than after her. She had no illusions that this would remain the case. Akane had managed to slip away, head pounding incessantly. She knew the signs of a concussion but even more she'd known she needed to get away, and fast. Since she'd originally been headed for a sleepover with Yuka and Sayuri she continued making her way to Yuka's house; her rivals were more than likely searching for her along her normal route to home and not in the exact opposite direction anyway.

Staggering slightly she used a bench to hold herself upright, waiting for the world to stop spinning and settle down enough so she could continue on her way home. Her legs hurt, she noticed vaguely. A glance down confirmed that there was blood running from her knee.

The world settled and Akane continued her staggering walk to Yuka. The park was dark and she felt kind of glad for it; she would've hated there to be witnesses to her drunken walk. A night's sleep would surely heal most of this. She just needed to get to her friend.

Huh… when had she decided to sink to her knees? Blinking forcefully, the young martial artist pushed herself up, standing motionless as the nausea and dizziness returned with a vengeance. Breathing in slowly she tried to calm down. Stupid Akane! Why didn't you tell Ranma? Stupid Pride! Stupid I can do everything myself! Stupid!

Her instincts warned her before she even heard her attackers. Seven boys came out from behind the bushes and trees around her. She didn't need to see them to know that they weren't here to make friends. Her legs and arms swung out without needing any thought. Survival and adrenaline suppressed the nausea, closing her eyes as she relied on her other senses since her vision was still wobbly.

A blow to the kidneys, a kick in the ribs, it should've been easy. She could handle forty armored boys with weapons. Her prior injuries slowed her though, made her vulnerable. And then her instincts warned her a little too late; her attempt to duck under the swing of the bat failed. Receiving a glancing blow sent her other attacks off target. Eyes wide, Akane stood woozily for a moment, yelling desperately for Ranma though no sound ever left her mouth, before she collapsed in on herself, glad that at least she wouldn't have to live through what they were planning on doing to her.

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Ranma's head shot up from his dinner. He didn't know what it was but something was wrong - very wrong. His instincts very blaring alarm sounds in his head but he couldn't quite place why; until his eyes landed once again on the empty spot next to him. Of course, Akane. It had to be her, right?

"Err… so where's the tomboy?"

He didn't know why or what but there was a feeling in his chest, an inexplicable tightness, the one he always had when Akane was in danger.

"She's having a sleepover with Yuka and Sayuri."

Okay, so maybe not her. But then why…? Before he could contemplate it further, Nabiki snorted and interrupted.

"She might be but before that she's been challenged by Ukyo, according to my sources. Actually, that was over an hour ago so she's probably with Yuka and Sayuri now."

Ranma frowned.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh chill, my lil' sis can take Ukyo. Besides, it might get her off your back."

He narrowed his eyes. The feeling inside him increased. He'd not seen either Ukyo or Shampoo since lunch time. Shampoo usually would not miss out on any opportunity to glomp him. He still wasn't quite sure how forcefully attacking him and squeezing all the air out of his lungs could be qualified as 'affection' but according to both girls that's what it was. He personally far preferred the gentle albeit rare hugs from Akane when the normally tomboyish girl positively melted into him.

But what if both Shampoo and Ukyo had teamed up against his blue haired fiancée…? His heart started pounding as his instincts told him she was in real danger.

Abandoning his food he made a vague excuse before rushing off. He'd long since memorized the address of his fiancée's best friends, though she didn't need to know that. His fears were confirmed when he arrived in record time at Yuka's house and she was adamant in not having heard from Akane since the end of school today.

Where would the tomboy go? Where would she- the park! Of course she'd always take the shortest route - no matter what time of day. Thanking the girl he jumped off, easily scaling the first tree, hoping for better vision.

He jumped ahead before, half-way through the park, he noticed a gang of men clustered around the limp body of a girl. Ranma's eyes narrowed. If they were doing what he thought they were doing he would not be kind with them.

It was only as he jumped down from the trees and came closer that he truly saw what was happening. The moonlight shone onto the motionless and presumably unconscious face of his fiancée - at least he dearly hoped she was unconscious. She was naked, her clothes torn, ripped or cut on her body, red marks littering her body and breasts from where the boys had bitten her. They were still half-bent over her immobile body. More than one of them had undone their own trousers and one had even gone so far as to have his fingers inside of Akane.

A red haze overtook him. What Saffron had seen was mere child's play compared to what he did to the men harming his fiancée. A rage, a fury overtook him unlike anything he'd ever felt before. This was Akane - his beautiful, pretty fiancée and the one thing she'd always feared was men doing exactly this to her against her will. He'd known that much after barely spending a day with her and seeing the idiots at school attacking her. The stubborn martial artist who refused to admit to being scared of ghosts, crawly creatures and who was extremely frightened just watching horror movies. This was the happy tomboy who would smile at him so brilliantly that he would be incapable of doing anything but stare at her. This was the kind hearted girl who had risked life and limb, again and again, for him, who had faced her fears and nearly died for him. She was his - his fiancée, his tomboy, his everything.

And these- these lowly creatures dared to harm her, hurt her, take what should be freely given by force. He spent no time talking to them, telling them who he was or what they'd done. They didn't deserve that; all that mattered as her and getting them away from her before punishing them for daring to touch his fiancée. They didn't even notice him until Ranma was right by the guy who still had his fingers inside his fiancée. His movements were quick but calculated - the guy was first made immobile before he cautiously, gently pulled the hand out of her. His eyes narrowed when he noticed the blood on them and as soon as he was clear he was the first one to be dealt with.

Bones were broken easily, almost too easily - the guy who had used his fingers inside of her had ever single bone in his hand crushed. Ranma watched coldly as the man screamed and his voice overturned as the bones in his hand cracked and groaned under the pressure he applied, watched as the lust in his eyes turned to pain and horror, watched as his voice ran out and he turned into a gibbering, crying mess, cradling his wrist.

Ranma had always been an excellent martial artist but until now he'd always viewed a fight as fun; he loved the rush, the speed, the feeling of flesh hitting flesh, the adrenaline pumping and the times when you came up against a foe greater than yourself which demanded all your knowledge, all your concentration, all your skill. But his view had always changed when Akane was at stake. But this was the first time that Genma's real training came to the fore; just as his father had been trained, he'd taught his son - ruthless, fast, the win was all that mattered. Ranma had learned morals on his own, taught himself what was right and what was wrong and he'd never ever thought he'd ever find himself in a situation where he'd actually use the knowledge and skills his father had taught him over their training journey.

Until now, that is.

Ranma's mind was cold and analytical as he surveyed the other men, standing protectively over Akane's body. There was no mercy, no painless get-out-clause; if they were to surrender right here and right now, he'd still beat them within an inch of their lives. They had crossed lines which didn't even bear thinking about.

The human body had 206 bones in the body and he knew exactly which one to damage for maximum damage without killing them. Ranma had never needed - nor wanted - to use the knowledge he had of human anatomy until now. He knew just how much the human body could take, how much pain to inflict in just the right way to keep them conscious while he systematically tore them apart. He flew into action and a sick satisfaction curled in his stomach at their cries of pain and terror; they weren't martial artist and never expected the resistance he could give them. They should be terrified of him for what they'd done. He'd never forgive, he'd never forget.

For the next few minutes the park was filed with screams, cries, whimpers, the sound of flesh and bones giving way. Icy anger and dread inside him at the continued lack of movement from his fiancée, Ranma took his revenge. He broke arms and twisted them until the muscles and ligaments tore, pressed pressure points to keep them awake and conscious as he slowly dealt with them one by one. One was stupid enough to come at him with a bat - Ranma immediately saw and identified the substance covering it as blood. His rage heightened to terrifying proportions as his hand closed around the bat and with a firm squeeze it crumbled beneath his hands. The man tried to apologise, tried to retreat, tried to express his submission - but Ranma didn't listen, didn't care. Moments later he, too, was on the ground with his companions, screaming in pain.

When he was finished with them he used the Shiatsu point that Happosai had used on him once upon a time, leaving them in a weak, whimpering mess of twisted limps, cuts, bruises and broken bones. His eyes were cold as he took in the damage he'd dealt before turning back to her.

She was still blissfully unconscious. Eyes softening, warming, he carefully divested himself of his own shirt, pulling it over her body carefully, noting the injuries on her with the practised eye of a martial artist rather than a boyfriend. His fiancée had been hurt and he still didn't think they had suffered sufficiently for it. She was breathing though, if a bit shallow, that much he could see from the gentle rising of her breasts. He took her torn clothing off, guessing it would only frighten her more. Gently he stroked her cheek, feeling the anger slowly subside to make space for horror, sympathy, love and a heightened need to protect her and never let her leave his sight again.

He gently lifted her up in his arms and suddenly the girl started twisting in his arms.

"Shhh… it's okay. It's me, Ranma. You're safe."

He watched as her brown eyes narrowed in concentration, focused on him, before a weak smile settled on her lips. It was obvious that she was still feeling out of it. He needed to get her to Dr. Tofu - quickly.

"Ranma… you came."

Then she paled, obviously remembering what had happened as well as feeling the breeze around her legs and her body even though his shirt covered her until just past her bottom.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god…"

Her eyes filled with tears even as her body shook with revulsion, taking in the marks on her thighs and legs, the tenderness inside of her. She twisted sideways, barely clearing from his arms before she threw up violently.

Slowly letting her down on the ground, Ranma rubbed her back gently.

"Akane, it's okay. They didn't- they didn't…"

They didn't what? Rape her? Violate her? They had. Maybe they'd not gotten as far as putting themselves inside her but they had still violated her, used her body against her will while she was unconscious.

"One of them… one of them had a finger inside you, but that's it. Promise. And he won't be using his hand at all anymore - ever."

Wide eyed, wiping her mouth, Akane turned back to him. She was shaking, trembling like a leaf under his hands.

"What- What do you mean?" Then her eyes seemed to take in the unconscious, bleeding men around her, limbs twisted at odd angles clearly showing signs of broken bones. "Oh god - what did you do?"

Lips twisting into a cold smirk, he looked back at her. He'd been in control, this was not what he'd done in a berserker rage. He wondered if she knew just how far he could go if he ever wanted to - and then he wondered if he even wanted her to know. Would she be scared of him?

"They're alive. I wouldn't let them off that easy. They'll live but it won't be painless…"

Her eyes hardened as she surveyed them, limbs still trembling and vision blurring.

"Good. Ranma… I've… concussion."

"No worries. I'll take you to Dr. Tofu."

"NO! You can't!", Panicked, his fiancée held onto his Chinese shirt with wide eyes. "Please!"

Ranma bit his lips worriedly.

"I'm sorry. But you're bleeding from your head and he needs to take a look. I'll swear him to secrecy but please, 'kane, please let me take you to him."

Her brown eyes watched him though he could see her iris contracting and expanding too often for it to be a voluntary reaction. Finally she nodded her acquiescence, burrowing her face in his arms.

Tenderly, Ranma brought her body closer to his, cradling her gently before setting off. Painfully aware that any jolts may cause her further discomfort he did his utmost to keep her as still as possible in his arms as he ran. Once he was out of the park, he leapt up to the roofs to avoid anyone seeing them as he moved to Dr. Tofu. Twice they'd had to hide, seeing Shampoo and Ukyo out, weapons drawn, searching.

Ranma gritted his teeth - if they had anything to do with this, they were dead.

Finally he reached the clinic he'd been aiming for. He forced the door open and entered.

"Ah, sorry. The clinic is closed - please come back tomorrow."

The voice from the kind doctor was coming from the backroom. Ranma softly deposited his precious burden in one of the beds, before calling out.

"Yo, Dr. Tofu, it's me and Akane! It's urgent, we need you right now!"

Giving his fiancée what he hoped was a reassuring smile, he drew the curtains around her bed closed just as the doctor burst in, first aid kit in hand.

"Listen… we'll need you to keep this secret, doc, okay? You can't tell anyone about anything you see or hear tonight, kay? Not even her father or the rest of her family. No notes, no nothing. We need your help, please, doc."

Dr. Tofu looked startled and frozen.

"Did you- Is Akane pregnant?"

Ranma blinked for a moment before snorting.

"Nah. Nothing like that. She's injured, doc. Pretty sure it's a concussion. Now, until you gimme your word I can't say any more."

"As long as this is Akane's wish I will not divulge any information that she doesn't want me to."

Ranma frowned for a moment, before turning to the curtains.

"Good enough, kane?"

There was a slight pause before she responded.

"Yeah. It's fine… let him in, Ranma."

Shrugging, he stepped through before holding the curtains open enough for the doctor. He watched as Tofu took one look at her, eyes wide and a noise escaping his throat before he glanced over at the pigtailed martial artist again. Ranma gave a short nod, confirming the doctor's worst fears.

"I… Akane, are you sure you want me to…? Normally they'd have a woman-"

"I've known … entire life. If anyone … then you. Or nobody. I'm… I'm n-not scared. Not you or Ranma. I know you'd never… never…", her voice trailed off, face forlorn. He found himself at her side in an instant, clasping her soft hands in his in silent support. He watched her lips tilt slightly upwards in a smile for him, an expression of her gratitude.

Dr. Tofu looked upset and withdrawn as he nodded softly.

"You're a very brave girl, Akane. I'll be back in a moment."

They both watched the doctor leave.

"Ranma…" he turned back to his fiancée. "Stay? Just… look away… but… h-hold my hand?"

Carefully, keeping his hands in her range of view the entire time, he stroked her soft cheeks.

"Of course. As long as you want me here, I'll stay. I won't ever leave you alone again."

He was gifted with another one of Akane's heartbreaking smiles. Even the bruising on her throat and her lips couldn't detract from it, though they did cause his heart to break in an entirely different way. He'd never seen her look so petite, so vulnerable. Normally she was a spitfire, larger than life. He was only ever aware of how small she actually was when she was unconscious - now though it didn't seem right. She was awake but there was none of the usual shine to her eyes, that spark that had always made him irrevocably focused on only her.

As he'd promised, his hands held onto Akane's, stroking her wrist gently, allowing the reassuring thrumming of her pulse beneath his fingers to soothe the anxiety within himself.

After what seemed like an eternity Dr. Tofu finally finished.

"Well, good news is that there is no lasting damage. The concussion should heal on its own rather quickly. You'll probably be okay by tomorrow but nevertheless someone should keep an eye on you for the next few days. Also, as you both know, Akane will need to be woken up several times throughout the night to check if everything's alright. Otherwise it's … only bruising and marks, but nothing permanent. It will all heal - probably within the week. No scars. You have some… tearing inside of you but your hymen is still intact. You'll be tender for a few days. I've given you some shots against infection but I would hazard a guess that after a week you will be fully alright. Now… I know you probably won't take me up on this but here's the card for a psychologist who specializes in cases like yours. It would help and she won't talk to anyone."

Akane shook her head but accepted the card anyway. Ranma breathed a sigh of relief - she was safe, she'd be okay.

"Oh, doc - could you call an ambulance and let them know that there are seven guys in the park needing some medical attention?"

Tofu raised his eyebrow.

"They're still alive?"

The young martial artist carefully picked up his fiancée before replying.

"Yeah - but they won't leave the hospital for several months. Most of them will live in a wheelchair for the rest of their lives. I've used the Moxibustion on them - don't cure it."

Tofu nodded calmly. In a few hours - or maybe tomorrow morning - he'd let the hospital know. He watched as the youngest Tendo, someone he'd treated since she was a small child, curled up and hid her face in her fiance's shirt. They deserved everything Ranma had done to them and he certainly wouldn't be helping them - though maybe some other pressure points would aid in driving the point home? It was time to consult his books for something of use…

~~~~~~~~~~##~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived back at the Tendos without any further incident and he easily went into her room through her window. Cautiously setting her down on the bed, he stroked her hair aside, trying to make eye contact.

"How're you feeling?"

He looked at Akane in concern. Her face was pale and sweating. She was either in shock or in extreme pain. Either was quite possible. Her eyes were unfocused.

"'s okay…"

Rolling his eyes he looked at her exasperatedly.

"Right… you're okay. If you weren't so 'okay' I'd have half a mind to start a fight with you. Now I need to look at your head just to make sure I didn't aggravate it during our trip back."

To his surprise Akane turned mutely around, presenting him with her back and bare neck. He barely managed to withhold a gasp, hands clenching unconsciously at the show of trust. Here she was, having just been attacked by a gang of… brutes and yet she willingly extended her trust to him, a male, whom she'd frequently labeled a pervert. The desire to protect her within him grew only more at her subconscious demonstration of her faith and trust in him.

Humbled, he carefully carded through her thick hair, carefully checking the bandage Tofu had wrapped around her head for any sign of new blood. He sighed in relief when he found nothing.

"Now, Akane, who would you like to stay here? I'll just say you had a concussion and explain what they need to do. Maybe Kasumi?"

The blue haired girl turned around, shaking her head mutely.

"Okay.. Nabiki? Or your father? My mom?"

"No… would- could you…?"

Eyes softening, he smiled warmly at her.

"If you want me to, I'd be happy to stay here. It's warmer than outside anyway." At her confused look he elaborated. "I would've stayed outside on the roof to watch over you either way, so this way is much easier for me. Can you… can you tell me what happened? Was it Ukyo and Shampoo?"

Akane shook her head slightly.

"And Kodachi."

Ranma found himself cursing under his breath. He'd half-expected it of course, otherwise there was no way those seven men could've overwhelmed her. But that the other fiancées were indirectly responsible for this…? He felt hate, a cold bitter rage rise up in him. Ucchan…? How…? He still remembered her as the first friend he'd ever had but those feelings were gone now. She'd pushed and prodded and slowly he'd lost hope of ever regaining the precious friendship he'd had with her before but now…? Now there was nothing, no hope, no desire to regain it even.

She'd done the unacceptable. She'd hurt _her_, his Akane. If she ever came near him again, she'd regret it. Deeply. He'd make sure of that.

Shampoo and Kodachi had never meant as much to him either way but both would now find they'd stepped over the line.

~~~~~~~~~~##~~~~~~~~~~

It took over an hour before he deemed her safe to fall asleep. He'd agreed with her that he was allowed to remain in her room and wake her up at frequent intervals to check on her.

He'd taken the time to phone Yuka and assure her of Akane's safety - though at his fiancée's behest had not revealed any of her injuries or the assault on her. He'd informed the rest of the family that she'd received a concussion in her fight against the other fiancées and would need to rest. He also told them not to, under any circumstances, enter the room as she would need peace and quiet.

Sighing slightly he returned to her room, leaving behind a wailing Soun who was simultaneously encouraging Ranma to spend the night with her as he was wailing about his daughter's failure to defend herself against the rivals and her 'becoming a woman'. His own father was telling everyone who'd listen that his son was coming after him while his mom told him that a 'man among men' would ensure his fiancée enjoyed it as well. Kasumi kept telling everyone how improper this was despite their engagement while Nabiki merely grinned at the ensuing chaos; she at least knew well enough that neither her little sister nor Ranma would have the guts to do something more than hold hands.

He'd ignored the lot of them, closing the door to Akane's bedroom firmly behind him. It would be a long night, watching her every movement, monitoring her breathing and heartbeat for signs of any underlying consequences. But he didn't mind. There was no way he'd get any sleep tonight either way.

~~~~~~~~~~##~~~~~~~~~~

Morning came slowly. Ranma turned the alarm off before it had a chance to ring, slowly shaking Akane awake again as he'd done numerous times throughout the night. His fiancée blinked tiredly.

"Another check?"

"Yes. But also time to get up if you really are still set on going to school. You don't have to, y'know."

Akane smiled.

"Yes, I do. My name is Akane Tendo, I am eighteen years old and you're Ranma Saotome, my fiancé thanks to machinations by our parents before our birth. What else do you wanna know?"

Ranma chuckled.

"Stubborn tomboy. That's it, nothing else. You're good to go but you're not leaving my eyesight at all except for the bathroom or changing rooms - is that clear? That's my condition otherwise I'll… I'll tie you to bed or something."

His fiancée smiled impishly at him, eyes sparkling again slightly. The teasing between them was a comfortable normality, a routine she longed to return to.

"You couldn't force me if you tried."

Both froze at her wording, uncomfortable.

"I- I'd never-"

She sighed, interrupting him before he could finish his sentence, shivering involuntarily in spite of herself.

"I know."

Her voice was resigned and her eyes sad. Protectiveness surged up in him, drowning out any uncomfortable embarrassment he felt.

"I'll never let anyone hurt you again - or touch you. You're_ my_ fiancée. If they even dare to try, they're dead. I will protect you. I'll never leave you alone again."

He knelt in front of her bed, almost at head height with this petite fiancée. He watched her confident façade crumble slowly before her arms closed around his neck and her tears wet his shirt.

"You have to promise me that no one - _no one_ - can ever find out about this. If… I couldn't stand it. If anyone found out that I'd been… touched, no one would ever want me. I'd be a social pariah. Dad would be devastated. Please, Ranma, promise me!"

Frowning, he looked at her in confusion though her head was still buried against his neck.

"But they didn't…"

"It wouldn't matter. No one would want to touch me or interact with me. I can't- I… Please, Ranma."

He sighed slightly hands gently caressing her back soothingly.

"If that's what you want then I promise on my honour.", he gulped slightly, cheeks blushing as he bit his lip. He knew he had to say it, knew she needed to hear it - that much was clear from her earlier words.

"I… You know that this doesn't bother me, right? I mean… you're still the same stubborn tomboy as before. And I…" he cleared his throat nervously. "I.. wouldn't mind, y'know… t-t-touching you, that is."

Her smile was heartbreaking, wide and honest even as her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

"Thank you Ranma. That means the world to me. And thank you for telling me."

"Ah… 's no problem."

His fiancée wiped her eyes and scrubbed her face slightly before giving him another smile.

"Now out of here with you. I still need to get dressed."

~~~~~~~~~~##~~~~~~~~~~

He was impressed in spite of himself. Breakfast had come and gone and no one had noticed a thing; not even the normally suspicious Nabiki.

Akane had acted as she normally would and both had vehemently denied sleeping with one another - at which point his mother and father had become disconsolate while Soun had manifested a demon head and asked him if his girl wasn't attractive enough. All in all, just another morning at the Tendos.

Instead of walking on the fence - despite the advantageous view it provided - he was at his fiancée's side, hand reassuringly clasping hers. He could easily see through the façade, could see the sadness, the anger, the helplessness and the fright that hid behind it, but made no mention of it. It only meant he had to protect her even more - no boy would even get near her today; he'd make sure of that.

The protectiveness inside him surged up yet again, drowning out his usual embarrassment and hesitation. Akane was all that mattered.

~~~~~~~~~~##~~~~~~~~~~

Ukyo frowned. Just yesterday she, Shampoo and Kodachi had attempted to teach Akane a lesson. However, somehow, their plan had once again backfired on them as schemes in Nerima had a tendency to. Instead of splitting her and Ranma up and allowing him to finally go be with her, the cute fiancée, they now seemed inseparable. Literally.

They had come in together at a sedate pace and her Ran-chan had dispatched Kuno before the other boy had even gotten a word in edgewise or even come close to them. After that his glare and cold demeanor had successfully parted the crowd in front of them.

No one dared to even go near them and the icy glare Ranma gave anyone who even tried to step towards Akane made everyone freeze. Only Sayuri and Yuka, two friends of the blue haired girl, were allowed near her. He was almost hovering protectively above her, eyes watchful despite the dark circles beneath them, never leaving Akane for even a moment unless it was to glare at someone.

It would've been sweet if he'd done this for her - but for the tomboy, the uncute fiancée? It simply wasn't right.

In class his eyes hadn't left Akane's body for even a moment, constantly scanning, checking, worry and concern clear for everyone to see. Not even Hinako had been able to bring him back to order as he'd answered her questions perfectly, eyes still intent on the youngest Tendo.

From there on it had only become worse. Ukyo had the brilliant idea of luring him away with okonomiyaki at lunch - at least she'd thought it was brilliant. Except that he hadn't complied with her plan.

"Hey, Ranma, fancy a special okonomiyaki free of charge?"

"Kuonji", she'd started. He always - _always_ - called her Ucchan. It was his pet name for her. Not only that but the lack of honorific after her last name was the same as an insult. What the…?

"I say this out of respect for the friendship we used to have." Used to? But then he looked up - his eyes were glacial and there was hate in his eyes - something she'd never thought she'd see in him. Especially not directed at her.

"Don't ever come near me or Akane again. If you do I won't guarantee for anything. You've gone too far, beyond too far. And I can never forgive you for what you've done."

Her spatula was in her hand almost out of habit as she neared the pair. Akane was sitting with her friends, watching but not interfering. Ranma was only a few feet away but nonetheless the moment she came closer his hand flashed out at nigh invisible speeds, clamping around the spatula and easily breaking it apart.

"Wh-what…?"

Ukyo had been beyond stunned at the easy, almost careless destruction of her favourite tool. Ranma stepped up to her, icy and voice threatening as he lifted her head up with a finger so she met his eyes.

"Step away now, Kuonji, or I _will _forget myself."

Wide eyed and scared of him for the first time in her life, she'd complied. Her beloved spatula and he'd broken it without a care in the world, clearly demonstrating just how little he would be bothered about doing the same thing to her.

What had happened? They always fought, they always competed… what was so different now to the other times?

She would have to try a sneak attack on Akane later, the girl had obviously told her fiancé lies about her. There was no other reason he'd ever avoid her otherwise.

~~~~~~~~~~##~~~~~~~~~~

After watching Ukyo leave he finally sat back down next to Akane.

"You didn't have to do that, you know…"

Ranma's smile was tender as he looked at her.

"'Course I did. She went too far."

Akane smiled at him and his heart beat faster. The bruising on her lips had faded enough to not be noticeable and she wore a scarf around her neck. He'd protect her. From anyone and anything.

Akane was _his_ fiancée.

~~~~~~~~~~##~~~~~~~~~~


	3. Sleepover

Again, your opinion. This is just a bit of fluffyness - again, not beta read.

~~~~~~~~###~~~~~~~~

This wasn't right. It's not like my fiancée isn't entitled to happiness – especially since she hasn't been that way since our wedding turned into a disaster. But shouldn't I be the one making her smile? And it kinda bugs me that she's cheerful and I don't know why.

Look at her – she's skipping and whistling! I can't remember the last time she's done that. Phhh, it's not like I care... okay, so maybe… just a little bit.

"What's got you so happy?"

My voice does not sound suspicious. I'm sure that it wasn't another guy that made her this cheerful. right?

"Pah, why do you care?"

Because you're _my_ fiancée, because I'm the only one who's supposed to make you this joyful, because I love you...

"I don't! I mean, why would I care about a tomboy like you?!"

Saotome Open-Mouth-Insert-Foot, 1, Ranma, 0.

Why is it so hard to tell her how I feel? I mean, I know why. That girl's just so damn hard to read. What if she doesn't like me? I'd look like a fool! A lovesick fool – like Mousse. She'd be sitting there with her friends laughing and making fun of me. Yeah – not happening. I've got choices, you know. It's not like I'm desperate or anything.

Uh-oh. She's mad. Her brown eyes are narrowing and maybe at some point I should consider telling her that she's exceptionally attractive when she's mad. Her cheeks get flushed, her eyes start sparkling, I can feel her ki flare up and suddenly she is the singular most magnificent creature I've ever laid eyes on.

Oh god, I've got it bad.

"_Exactly._ Why would YOU care?"

I watch as she huffs and whirls around, hair flying and slowly my heartbeat starts to calm down. With a sigh and a quick jump I land on the footpath and run after her retreating form. I've learned the hard way that if I let her out of my eyesight for even just a few minutes she gets kidnapped, challenged to a fight, asked out for a date or asked for her hand in marriage. To be fair, sometimes she gets both kidnapped and then nearly married off to someone else.

Unfortunately, I'm not the only one to have noticed she's the most beautiful of my fiancées.

I only relax once we've both enter the Tendo house. Don't get me wrong – often we get challenged within the house as well but here at least I'm not the only looking out for her.

~~~~~~~~###~~~~~~~~

Dinner is over. I'm just about to go to my bedroom and get some of that stupid homework done – why does a martial artist have to go to this stupid school anyway? – when I hear two very familiar voices coming from the entrance.

I pause but once I hear Akane's happy laugh, I silently edge closer, curiousity overpowering my hesitation.

"Sorry we're late, Akane!"

"Don't worry about it, Yuka. Kasumi's put some dinner aside for us."

Ah, so that's why she hadn't been eating with the rest of us. Makes sense – she invited her friends over. Shrugging, just about to move away again and leave the girls to their, well, whatever it is they talk about, I hear Sayuri squeal slightly.

"We haven't had a sleepover in such a long time. You sure Happosai isn't here?"

"Yeah, don't worry. Nabiki's incited a panties hunt on the other side of Tokyo. We should be safe tonight."

"Thank goodness. Now, girl, we haven't been able to chat with you in private since the wedding. You gotta tell us all the juicy details."

I quickly jumped up and clung to the ceiling when I realised almost too late that they were coming around the corner – I really should pay more attention.

"There are no juicy details – Wedding day, Nerima Chaos, no wedding. End of story. I'm more curious about you and Hiroshi, Sayuri."

Huh – Hiroshi and Sayuri... who would've thought? Never thought any girl would date that pervert, especially not one of Akane's close friends.

Dropping noiselessly to the floor once they'd left, I resigned myself to spending time doing homework. The weekend was coming but that always flew past, anyway.

~~~~~~~~###~~~~~~~~

Argh, god. Pop's snoring is worse today than that can only mean he's once again been drinking with Akane's dad. I wonder how mum can stand this amount of noise? … Actually, thinking about it, maybe that's why her house supposedly still hasn't been repaired; it does seem to take an awfully long time.–

After a lot of pointless turning and twisting I decide to jump on the roof and enjoy the peace, quiet and solitude. As long as it doesn't rain I might even sleep there. Yeah right – with my curse it'll probably start raining the moment I close my eyes.

Before jumping up to the roof I made sure the window to mine and Pa's room is closed – otherwise the whole thing would be kinda pointless.

It's nice – just staring at the stars. No weird girls, fiancées, or long lost rivals; just me. With the madness that is my life it's rare for me to get this sort of peace and quiet at any point and I've learned to enjoy it while I can.

True to form barely a few minutes after I've settled myself on the roof – above Akane's bedroom, just to make sure no one tries to kidnap or attack her in the middle of the night – her bedroom window opens. And suddenly I can clearly hear all three girls' voices. Half-heartedly I glance at my room before dismissing the thought. Pop wouldn't stop snoring until half-way through the night there's no way I am suffering through any more of that.

Deciding to simply ignore them, I settle back down. Unfortunately, that is easier said than done.

"Aahh... That is so nice."

"What, you getting flushed, Yuka?"

I heard the other two laughing quietly and smiled to myself. Akane really does have a nice laugh – not one that make shivers run down your spine like Kodachi's. Hers makes you want to laugh with her and do anything to keep Akane happy.

"Soo... no excuses anymore. There's no way Ranma can hear us over his pop's snoring. What happened on the wedding night?"

I blushed – of course there had been no such thing as a wedding night after the failure of the event but even just the thought of me and the tomboy kissing or… y'know, doing more than that…

"Nothing. I told you guys already – we didn't get married so no wedding night."

A sigh from Sayuri.

"You can't blame us for trying. I mean Ranma is a hunk and since he's engaged to you we all have to live vicariously through you."

"Wh-What?"

Akane sounded as shocked as I felt. Then suddenly Yuka seemed to... smack her lips?

"C'mon. Even you can't deny he's fantastic eye candy. I mean – he just looks yummy enough to eat, don't you think?"

Both Sayuri and Yuka giggled and I felt myself blush even darker. Good thing they couldn't see me. A part of me thought the decent thing would be to move away now but I wanted to hear what Akane had to say – what she thought about me when she wasn't in front of our assembled families.

"I swear if you tell anyone I said this I'll deny it until the day I die."

"Oooh, that does sound juicy." All three girls giggled this time and I felt myself tense more and more. Would this be good?

Then Akane sighed softly.

"Okay, this is embarrassing. I may or may not have watched Ranma during his kata in the morning."

A slight pause and it dawned on me what she was talking about – obviously her two friends had no such inkling.

"Okay... So you saw him exercise...?"

"No – well, yes. Okay, picture this. It's morning – the sky is still mostly orange and red. And there, in our garden, is Ranma, topless, sweat glistening on his incredibly well muscled, trim upper body. Every kata he does is so smooth, flawless and controlled. I've seen how much power his punch packs and then to see him moving so slowly, his strength under such fine control and every movement calculated. And you can see his muscles flex with every change in stance and it's... Well, I have never seen a guy look hotter than that."

I blushed brightly, eyes wide. Maybe I should put a show on more often for her... I hadn't known for sure if she was attracted to me at all, but this...?

My pride swelled and I was tempted to go in there, smirking and showing off. Knowing Akane she'd deny every word and catapult me out the window faster than I could blink though, so maybe not my best plan.

"Wow, you're sooo lucky."

"Yeah, I wish. Remember? Ranma is engaged to three of us – me, Ukyo and Shampoo. Have you seen Shampoo's body? She's curvaceous, got bigger breasts, slimmer hips and thighs... I mean, how am I gonna compete with that? And on top of that both of them are fantastic cooks. I can't cook anything except for Curry. Ranma's always eating their food, always complimenting them. I'm a tomboy with thick thighs and flat chest. He's told me often enough that his own breasts are bigger than mine."

I heard my fiancée sigh and I stared up at the sky. Was that really what she thought? That I didn't find her attractive? That I cared only about food? I mean, I knew I said that but I always thought both of us knew that I didn't mean that. If I truly cared about that I would've married Shampoo long ago. She couldn't have possibly missed all the times I risked my life for her, the way I look at her… I killed for her.

"Oh Akane-chan. You can't tell us you haven't noticed how Ranma stares at you in class. A guy can't be much more obvious than that. He's done everything for you. And you need to stop being so insecure – it doesn't suit you."

"Yuka's right, Akane. Trust me, I know when a guy is in love and when he's lusting after someone and – well, Ranma is so head over heels in love with you it ain't funny."

"But it is kinda romantic. He's like her hero – her knight in shining armour."

"Yeah, I wish other guys were like that but all we have got is guys without martial arts and nowhere near as hot as Ranma - well, and Kuno. But he kinda really doesn't count. So, tell me, what are his kisses like? Hiroshi's make me want to drag him off to bed for _days_."

Laughter from bedroom again but I can't help but blush. Girls talked about that sorta stuff? And Akane has the nerve to call me a pervert!

"Well... we haven't ever really kissed."

"Are you serious? Gosh, you're serious. You haven't kissed... Have you ever kissed anyone?"

She must've shaken her head.

"Right, that's it. I'm getting Ranma. You- you're staying here."

Eyes wide I sit up on the roof – is she really...?

"No! You can't! I mean what if he-", she was hissing at her friends but obviously losing.

"Trust me."

And then I hear the door click.

Fuck.

With rapid moves I'm back in my own room and barely manage to sneak back under the blanket when the door cracks open. I pretend to blink sleepily as Yuka and Sayuri wave for me to come out. I follow them – will I really get to kiss Akane? My heart's beating faster.

Sayuri glances at me and I blush, realising I'm in my typical sleeping outfit, that is to say boxer shorts and a tank top. I'm not sure if she's aware that she's licking her lips – luckily Yuka takes over, tells me to kiss Akane and then shoves me into her room.

I stare at my blushing fiancée. She's in her pyjamas, obviously embarrassed and she's never looked more beautiful to me.

Hesitating only slightly, I step closer until we're barely separated. Her doe brown eyes widen fractionally at our proximity.

"A-Akane... I... May I kiss you?"

My heart's in my throat despite her earlier confessions. Would she say no?

To my surprise and pleasure, I watch as she nods her head minutely and suddenly my pulse rate jumps above two hundred, my palms start sweating and I'm unsure what to do. I watch as Akane rolls her beautiful eyes, blush still high on her cheeks as she closes the gap between us.

The same moment that I feel her breasts collide with my chest, her lips softly, hesitantly touch my own. And then every other thought evaporates as if she was the only person in the entire world. My entire being narrowed in on one thing: Akane. Her curves were pressing against me, her lips were so soft and so tender.

I can hear her moan just lightly, feel her exhale over my lips and suddenly my arms around her tighten automatically and I put more pressure into our kiss. God, she tasted like... strawberries. And vanilla ice cream.

And I couldn't get enough. Her lips were moving against mine with the same urgency I felt. God - why hadn't we done this before? All my mind could repeat, as if it was a mantra, was her name: _Akane, Akane, Akane, Akane..._

Ever so gently we separate and I lean my forehead against hers, opening my eyes to find her eyelashes fluttering softly before brown doe eyes look at me. The girl in my arms looked just as dazed and pleasured as I felt. My heart picked up speed again and I involuntarily licked my lips, longing to taste her again.

With this newfound closeness, I felt more than I saw her lips curl into a smile before her eyelids fluttered shut again and she closed the distance between us again.


End file.
